Best PlacesMontana Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Montana, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime read low across the board, which puts the choice down to which part suits you. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Montana ranks 21st of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It earns the spot by being affordable and steady rather than flashy: local pay stretches further than in most of the country, and crime is low. The trade is distance from a big city: the nearest large city and its jobs, flights, and culture are a drive away.
The best neighborhoods in Montana
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Montana
The counties of Montana, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Gallatin County
More adults hold degrees, health outcomes score higher, and schools score higher.
Cascade County & Lewis and Clark County
Fewer homes sit empty and disaster risk is lower.
Yellowstone County
More households have young kids and prices have run up less.
Missoula County & Ravalli County
Biking is better, though homes cost more.
Custer County, Fergus County & Dawson County
Incomes run lower and tree cover is thinner.
Flathead County
It is quieter and crime runs lower.
Hill County, Teton County & Chouteau County
The air is cleaner, though health care is harder to reach.
Beaverhead County & Deer Lodge County
Streets are more walkable, though local pay stretches less far.
Roosevelt County, Richland County & Valley County
Fewer residents vote and big-city amenities are further off.
Montana shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Montana's strengths and weaknesses
Montana lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. A strong job market, short commutes, and low taxes carry most of that.
The one real hole is distance from a big city, near the bottom of the country. Internet speeds and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where Montana ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 93% of states
- Short commute19.1 minutes each way, better than 93% of states
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 85% of states
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of states
- Air qualityBetter than 83% of states
Where Montana ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 1% of states
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of states
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of states
- TransitBetter than only 15% of states
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Montana
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Montana home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $77,228, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Montana's effective rate of 0.68%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Montana
Montana's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Montana.
Who works in Montana, and how
Work in Montana centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Montana
Montana has more parkland per resident than 90% of states and more late-night spots per resident than 90% of states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Montana and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Montana, month by month
Montana sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 27° | 17° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 92° | 75° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 48° | 36° |
The best schools in and around Montana
Schools across Montana average a C+, better than 52% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Sagebrush ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Morning Star SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Cottonwood SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Anderson 7-8A+ · 80% proficient
- Pine Creek 6-8A+ · 75% proficient
- Swan Valley 7-8A+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Sunburst High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Sheridan High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Bozeman High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Montana school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Montana measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Montana against the other 49 states.
Who Montana suits
Families
Schools land around the 52nd percentile and crime safety beats 73%.
Common questions about living in Montana
Is Montana a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Montana ranks 21st of 50 states. It scores highest on a strong job market, short commutes, and low taxes, and lowest on distance from a big city and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Montana expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $404,396. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $77,228 median income, cost of living beats 17% of states.
Is Montana safe?
Yes, Montana is safer than 73% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $406 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Montana?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 17. That works out to about 123 pleasant days a year, more than 81% of states.
What are the best areas in Montana?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Gallatin County, Cascade County & Lewis and Clark County, and Yellowstone County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Montana good for families?
Schools beat 52% of states, crime safety beats 73%, and childcare runs $1,052 a month.
Is Montana good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 17% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 3% of states. About 13% of workers already work from home.
Compare Montana with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Montana. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Montana represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Montana detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Montana: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Montana: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Montana: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Montana: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Montana detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.